Marquette business school dean and a formerly homeless man struck and killed overnight by suspected drunken drivers

Editor's note: Based on earlier information provided by authorities, this article previously stated crash victim Nathan Garski was homeless. He has been living in supportive housing for two years.

Two suspected drunken drivers struck and killed two pedestrians — one of them a Marquette University business school dean and the other a man who overcame homelessness — in separate incidents about a mile apart from each other on Milwaukee's west side Tuesday night.

Joe Daniels, a faculty member at MU since 1992 who was named dean of the College of Business Administration last month after serving as acting dean, was identified as the victim of the second crash by university officials Wednesday.

"Joe was a campus fixture for more than 30 years, and I was honored to call him my friend," university President Michael Lovell said in a campuswide email. "He inspired students his entire career as a mentor and educator and made an indelible impact on the field of economics as a master scholar."

The other victim was identified by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office as Nathan J. Garski, 37, of Milwaukee.

Milwaukee police said a 60-year-old man, Daniels, was crossing the intersection of North 10th Street and West Wisconsin Avenue around 8 p.m. when a vehicle driven by a 20-year-old woman, who had a green light, proceeded through the intersection at a high rate of speed and struck him.

Daniels was dragged for about 100 to 150 feet, according to a report from the medical examiner. The driver pulled over and called 911.

Daniels, of Muskego, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to Sgt. Sheronda Grant of the Milwaukee Police Department. The driver was arrested on suspicion of OWI.

Daniels had been meeting with business leaders at the Wisconsin Club before he was struck, a colleague said at a Marquette memorial service Wednesday.

About an hour and a half before that, around 6:30 p.m. near North 25th and West Clybourn streets, Garski was run over by an SUV and killed, Grant said.

The SUV had been parked on a hill 50 feet from Garski, and witnesses said they believe the man in the vehicle was sleeping, according to a report from the medical examiner. At some point, the SUV rolled backward down the hill.

Garski, who was likely standing on the median panhandling, was facing south and did not see the vehicle approaching, according to the report. The SUV ran him over. Investigators found Garski's cane and a sign that read "Homeless and Hungry" underneath the truck.

Garski was pronounced dead at the scene, and the driver, a 47-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of OWI.

Garski's father, Lonnie Garski of Stevens Point, told investigators his son had struggled with addiction and was unemployed.

Garski was homeless for 16 years before moving into an apartment through a supportive housing program two years ago, said Shelly Sarasin of Street Angels Milwaukee Outreach, a group of volunteers that works with the homeless community.

Although he continued to confront addiction and poverty, "Nate was very proud of the fact he was able to end his homelessness," said Damir Djidic, a Milwaukee County housing official who works with the homeless population.

Homeless outreach community remembers Garski

Amada Morales of Milwaukee was friends with Garski for 10 years and said he was like her brother. Garski first met her mother at Our Lady of Divine Providence Catholic Church in the Riverwest neighborhood, and he became part of the family, Morales said.

"Nate was hilarious and everyone loved him," she wrote in a message to the Journal Sentinel. "He was very intelligent and knew a lot about the world."

Garski used to sing Elton John's "Rocket Man" to Morales, and Tuesday night she noticed the radiant moon and thought of Garski and his songs. Now she believes the big moon was a sign that Garski was saying goodbye to her.

Street Angels held a vigil Wednesday night near the location where Garski died, and the group held candles solemnly in the snow as "Rocket Man" played through a speaker.

Attendees recalled Garski's intelligence, his lively spirit and his kind heart. A big fan of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Garski was a "street politician" himself, they said — he loved the spotlight and was always telling stories.

Garski lit up any room he walked into, Eva Welch of Street Angels said. When the group was considering whether to host a public vigil Wednesday, they realized Garski would've adored the attention.

"'Wait, this is Nate. He loves this, he lives for this,'" she said the group decided. "This is his thing: All these cameras here for him."

A military veteran who spent most of his adulthood living outdoors, Garski never slept on a bed and never turned on the heat in his apartment, Sarasin said. The vigil attendees agreed: His next life surely would be better than the one he lived on Earth.

"He's not eating food out of a Styrofoam cup and Styrofoam plates," one woman said through tears. "As sad as this is, we all have to believe he's in a better place and there was a purpose for this."

Campus mourns Daniels

In his email, Lovell said all College of Business Administration classes would be canceled Wednesday.

A longtime professor of economics, Daniels was named acting dean in May and last month was named the James H. Keyes Dean of Business Administration. In January, the university also announced plans for a new $70 million building for the College of Business Administration.

"Joe helped take Marquette Business to new heights," Lovell said. "He was instrumental in inspiring a new vision for the college, which we will carry forward in his memory."

University Provost Kimo Ah Yun described Daniels as an active fundraiser who had a renewed sense of purpose upon being named the permanent dean of business administration.

He said that before the car crash, Daniels had been meeting with community members to share his vision for the College of Business Administration on Tuesday night.

"Our thoughts and prayers and especially our prayers are with his family at this time," Ah Yun said. "We can't imagine what they're going through."

Marquette held a memorial service Wednesday afternoon to remember Daniels, drawing an over-capacity crowd in the Alumni Memorial Union ballrooms. Colleagues and friends reflected on the impact he made in their lives and on the university.

Among those who spoke was Mark Eppli, director of the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

When Eppli came to Marquette, he had dinner with Daniels, then a professor in the economics department. Their friendship blossomed from there.

"He always had a little beer in his refrigerator in his office," Eppli said. "Later in the day, we'd sit down and have a beer and talk about the day and so forth."

As interim dean from 2012-'15, Eppli used Daniels as an assistant dean. He described Daniels as "extraordinarily thoughtful."

"As an economist, he was always thinking of the unintended consequence of an action," Eppli said. "He was a perfect person to be the dean. He was a servant leader looking to take care of others first."

Eppli said family was "hugely important" to Daniels and was "always on the front of mind."

"I can't tell you how many discussions we had about that," Eppli said.

Daniels also overcame debilitating migraines and Stage 4 lymphoma.

"He went through hell with that, but he survived that and was thriving after that," Eppli said.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce expressed condolences to Daniels' family and mourned the loss of influence he had over the region's businesses.

"We know his nearly 30 years of teaching at Marquette were such a positive influence on all his students, many of whom went on to work at companies throughout the Milwaukee region, and he’ll be missed greatly," the statement said.

The two deaths account for the year's first two fatal pedestrian crashes in Milwaukee, according to police department data. In 2019, 11 pedestrians died in crashes, down from 17 deaths in 2018.